Monday 4th September 2017 – Saturday 20th October 2017
HALF TERM
Monday 30th October 2017 – Tuesday 19th December 2017
CHRISTMAS BREAK
Spring Term
Wednesday, 3rd January 2018 – Saturday 9th February 2018
HALF TERM
Monday, 19th February 2018 – Thursday, 29th March
EASTER BREAK
Summer Term
Monday, 16th April – Saturday 26th May
HALF TERM (please note we shall run lessons for GCSE students only on Wednesday, 30th June – booking is essential).
Monday, 4th June – Saturday 8th June – We shall be open during this week with reduced staffing – please confirm ASAP if you are attending at your usual time.
Monday, 11th June – Saturday, 28th July
SUMMER HOLIDAYS
Summer School
Summer school will run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the summer break. We will take bookings from June. To find out more, follow this link.
The Trafford Consortium entrance exam will take place on Monday 15th September, 2025.
Trafford Consortium encompasses Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Sale Grammar, Stretford Grammar and Urmston Grammar.
Registration for the exam will open on Thursday, 24th April and will close at midday on Friday 20th June. You can register your child for the exam here.
To book tuition, summer school or a mock exam, contact Paul or Christine here at Better Tuition on 0161 748 3912.
Year five parents are invited to join our FREE Zoom Entrance Exam workshop on Monday, 19th May. Starting at 7.30 pm, we will help you plan your summer strategy as well as answering all your questions on anything entrance exam-related. Register for our workshop here.
You may think it’s rather early to be planning for summer, but the long summer break is the trickiest time for entrance exam preparation. Juggling childcare, work, holidays, playdates and sleepovers can all take their toll on your carefully-curated schedule. Whilst we wouldn’t suggest that your child should forego summer fun, it’s still important to keep up their entrance exam prep, since those big exams are looming in September.
Our workshop will cover: – planning your summer strategy – tips to keep your child motivated – how to judge the ‘right amount’ of prep – what Better Tuition can offer over the summer break – Q & A session with Paul and Christine
Places are limited so please do not delay in booking. You can book our workshop here. If you have any queries about this or anything else, call Paul or Christine anytime on 0161 748 3912.
September always brings a steady stream of Year 5 students to our door, seeking help with entrance exam preparation. With their incredibly high standards, Trafford’s grammar school entrance exams are not an easy option. Whichever school your child is aiming for, Better Tuition is here to help. Read on to find out about our special offers and free events.
FREE Mini Mocks
Our mini mocks are the ideal way to kickstart your child’s entrance exam journey. Running throughout September, these mocks cover:
Maths
Verbal Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning
These will give your child experience of sitting a test in a formal setting, as well as giving you a pretty good idea of his or her strengths and weaknesses. You will receive feedback and advice after your child’s mini-mock.
FREE Entrance Exam Information Evening
Our Zoom workshop will explain everything you need to know about Trafford’s grammar school entrance exams. From the format of the exams to strategies that will help you support your child, this is an invaluable experience for any Year 5 parent.
Call Paul or Christine on 0161 748 3912 to book.
Special Offer – Save 20% on Practice Entrance Exams
Book and pay for one or more practice entrance exams before 31st December 2024 and receive 20% off. Contact us for the discount code.
Year five parents are invited to join our FREE Zoom Entrance Exam workshop on Monday, 20th May. Starting at 7.30 pm, we will help you plan your summer strategy as well as answering all your questions on anything entrance exam-related. Register for our workshop here.
You may think it’s rather early to be planning for summer, but the long summer break is the trickiest time for entrance exam preparation. Juggling childcare, work, holidays, playdates and sleepovers can all take their toll on your carefully-curated schedule. Whilst we wouldn’t suggest that your child should forego summer fun, it’s still important to keep up their entrance exam prep, since those big exams are looming in September.
Our workshop will cover: – planning your summer strategy – tips to keep your child motivated – how to judge the ‘right amount’ of prep – what Better Tuition can offer over the summer break – Q & A session with Paul and Christine
Places are limited so please do not delay in booking. You can book our workshop here. If you have any queries about this or anything else, call Paul or Christine anytime on 0161 748 3912.
It’s that time of year again! Exam season is never easy but we hope that our infographic will provide some useful advice. If you’d like EVEN MORE useful advice, read our easy revision hacks.
If you need some extra help, why not give Paul or Christine a call on 0161 748 3912? You can have a chat, book a free assessment and find out why we are worthy of our name!
It’s widely-known that there is plenty of help available to cover the cost of childcare, but did you know that you may be able to use this to help cover the cost of tuition? Better Tuition is Ofsted-registered and a government-approved provider of childcare services. This means that any of the government’s help-with-childcare schemes can be used to reduce the cost of tuition with us.
Can you get help with childcare?
Many parents of school-aged children are entitled to help to cover the cost of childcare. Use this government calculator to find out what help you could get. The main routes to extra help with childcare are tax-free childcare, tax credits, Universal Credit and Childcare Grant Payments. You can also use childcare vouchers if you are already registered for these (the scheme has now closed, so you cannot register if you have not already done so).
Tax-free Childcare
Tax-free childcare is a government scheme designed to help parents of children aged 11 and under with childcare costs. Check whether you are eligible here on the gov.uk website. To use the scheme, you will need to set up an online childcare account. For every £8 you pay in, the government will pay in £2, which you must use to pay your provider. It’s an easy way to save money on tuition at Better Tuition, so why not find out more here and start saving today?
Tax Credits
Tax credits have been replaced by Universal Credit, so you can only get help with childcare via this route if you are already claiming tax credits. If you already claim tax credits, you can add an extra amount of Working Tax Credit, to cover the cost of childcare. You can use this to pay for tuition at Better Tuition. If you are already receiving Working Tax Credits, you can claim Childcare Tax Credits. This can be worth over £3000, so it’s well worth checking out. Find out more here on the gov.uk website.
Universal Credit
If you are entitled to Universal Credit, you can get substantial help with childcare, which you can use to pay for lessons at Better Tuition. You can claim up to £951 per month for one child and from £1,108 to £1,630 for two children. Find out if you’re eligible for Universal Credit here on the gov.uk website.
Childcare Grant Payments
You may be eligible for help with childcare if you are a student. You can get 85% of your childcare costs or a fixed maximum amount, whichever is less. You have to pay any remaining costs.The maximum you can get is up to £188.90 a week for 1 child and up to £323.85 a week for 2 or more children.
Paul and Christine would like to wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2024. We have lots to look forward to over the coming months and we intend to go from strength to strength.
People sometimes ask how we arrived at the name ‘Better Tuition’. You might assume that we chose the name to portray the idea that we are better than other tuition centres. Whilst we certainly hope that we offer the highest standards of bespoke tuition, ‘Better Tuition’ is more than that. We aim to continually improve: we constantly consider how we can tutor your children more effectively.
We want to end each year knowing that we are providing a better service than ever. 2024 is no exception to this: we want this to be our best ever year, so bring it on! We’re ready.
Customer feedback is so important to us. We love the five star reviews and glowing Facebook recommendations so, please, keep them coming! We all enjoy fantastic feedback. However, we love constructive criticism even more. Constructive criticism or suggestions for improvement really help us to live up to our name. We are never offended and we always welcome your feedback, so don’t be shy: get in touch and let us know your thoughts.
If your child needs help with maths, English or entrance exam preparation, please call Paul Syrett or Christine McLaughlin today on 0161 748 3912 or click the ‘FREE ASSESSMENT’ button at the top right of this post. 2024 is YOUR year and we want to be a part of it.
Join Centre Directors Paul Syrett and Christine McLaughlin on Zoom as we take you through Trafford’s entrance exam procedures and format, step by step. The session will begin at 7pm and will last around one hour, with time for questions at the end. We will cover:
– Trafford’s grammar schools – Exam format – Topics to cover – What to expect on the day – Registering for the exam – Pass marks and PANs – Entrance Criteria
This session is for PARENTS of children in YEAR 4 OR 5.
This means that if your child is sitting the exam for Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Altrincham Grammar School for Boys or Stretford, Sale or Urmston Grammar, s/he will sit two papers in maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Each paper will take approximately one hour (source: Sale Grammar).
The main difference between the old (CEM) and new (GL) format is that the verbal reasoning question types are quite different. You can take a look at a GL-style verbal reasoning paper here on our website. The answer grid is here.
If you need help to prepare your child for grammar school entrance exams, please get in touch with Paul or Christine on 0161 748 3912. We can help with:
What do we know about Trafford’s 2023 entrance exams?
It was a big surprise when the CEM, exam providers for the Trafford Consortium of grammar schools, announced that they would no longer provide a paper exam. Many schools across the country were caught on the hop, as not much notice was given. We all know it is essential to begin preparing children several months in advance of the exam, so this posed a big problem for parents and pupils. How can we prepare children for an exam when we have no idea of the format? Here’s what we know so far. All information is correct at the time of writing.
Stretford Grammar
At the time of writing, Stretford Grammar have said that full arrangements for entry to the school in September 2024 will be announced on their website by mid-May 2023. Their draft admissions policy states that the skill areas to be tested are Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Urmston Grammar’s website currently states that the school is ‘still in the planning stages’ for their September 2023 entrance exam. However, the site also states that ‘We do not intend to make any changes to the skills tested in the exam.’ This would suggest that the skills areas to be tested will be Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Urmston Grammar says that full arrangements will be available from their website by mid-May 2023.
Sale Grammar’s website currently states that the school is ‘still in the planning stages’ for their September 2023 entrance exam. However, the site also states that ‘We do not intend to make any changes to the skills tested in the exam.’ This would suggest that the skills areas to be tested will be Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Sale Grammar says that full arrangements will be available from their website in due course.
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys’ website currently states that the school is ‘still in the planning stages’ for their September 2023 entrance exam. However, the site also states that ‘We do not intend to make any changes to the skills tested in the exam.’ This would suggest that the skills areas to be tested will be Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Altrincham Grammar School for Boys says that full arrangements will be available from their website in due course.
At the time of writing, there is no information about entry to the school for September 2024. There is, however, a suggestion that you may like to email their admissions officer at: admissions@aggs.bright-futures.co.uk
The two Catholic grammar schools are unaffected by the changes made to the Trafford Consortium exams.
Will the Consortium Continue?
For the past few years, five of Trafford’s grammar schools have formed a consortium. This meant that students could sit one exam for Urmston, Stretford and Sale Grammar(s) as well as Altrincham Grammar School(s) for Girls/ Boys. The schools have not yet announced whether this will continue to be the case. If the consortium is disbanded, your child will need to register for each exam separately.
Who Will the New Exam Provider Be?
None of the schools have announced their new exam provider. There are a few options:
1) The schools could opt to write their own examinations.
2) The schools could opt to return to GL Assessment. Trafford’s grammar schools previously used GL Assessment and GL Assessment is now the biggest provider of grammar school entrance exams in the country.
3) The schools could opt for the CEM online test, which is a one-hour test completed via computer. This seems the least likely option as each school would need over 1000 internet-connected computers.
How Can Better Tuition Help?
Better Tuition is by far the most experienced provider of entrance exam support in the area. Established in 2008, we were here back in the days when all the grammar schools used GL Assessment as an exam provider. We are expert in all forms of verbal and non-verbal reasoning, so whatever the exams cover, we know how to help your child develop the skills and techniques needed to pass Trafford’s grammar school entrance exams.
